The Storm and The Bird
by Rupiah
Summary: NOT HARRY POTTER! This is a story me and my friend made up. About ninjas. It is sort of harry Potter if Hogwarts was a school for ninjas. Its about two girls who are opposites but must work together to defeat evil ninjas. Romance, action and stuff. R&R!


_A/N: This has nothing to do with anything already existing. This was made up completly from our own imaginations. This is about kick-ass ninjas who are awesome. I am the plain text and my friend Flame-jnr is the bold. No, she doesn't have an actual account here, although she should get one. Apparently she will eventually. Enjoy. Don't stop reading cause it's good. And will get better. Thank you._

_-Pluto-nfl_

_Just to explain something, We each made up a character and wrote from her point of view. We knew nothing of each others characters as we started writing. The story doesn't really get interesting until chapter three because the first two are just recollection to help you understand whats going on. Our characters are nothing like us, even though Pluto refers to them as ourselves. I hope you enjoy our story and please review._

_-Flame Jnr_

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**CHAPTER ONE: RECOLITIONS OF THE STUDENT LIFE**

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Silent was the night. Dark and mysterious. It was the time of day when the world goes the sleep. It was my time of day. I revel in the darkness. When everything goes dull and slow, I spark up and glow with life. I do not fear the darkness. While all the other little girls curled up under their bed covers I planned my future and told tales of the night creatures. It was beautiful, the night. Living like this, it only made sense that I would grow up to be what I am today: a fearsome assassin, a killer. One of the best in my class. I showed no mercy to my prey. Fear me, if you dare. For I am Storm and nothing will stand in my path.

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The children did well today. The promise of extra won-tons in their soup helped them train harder, become better. Unlike some of the girls in the academy, I did not enjoy the killing of others. Instead, I helped in the most guilt free way I possibly could in this gloomy place; training. I was never amazing at the skills that they taught here, so instead of teaching the older, I taught the young. The feeling of serenity and being at peace with your surroundings was crucial to success here and it just so happened to be what I was best at.

One of my favourite pupils reminded me of myself when I was training. Quirky, cheerful, what some people would call weak. We didn't have names here, not until we graduated. We only had numbers, numbers that stole our individuality. Only when we became 'people' could we have designated names. Mine was Kanjri: Little Bird. Today seemed like one of those rare pessimistic days. Great.

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It hadn't been long since I graduated, but it felt like forever. I was now twenty and the youngest teacher the academy has ever seen. I first became a teacher a year and a half ago. I graduated school, top in my class, and worked for the Dark Shadows for a year and a half. When my time had been served I returned to the school and asked for a post. So, at the age of nineteen, I was the youngest teacher the school has ever accepted. Why? Because I'm the best. And I worked hard to become so. Throughout my years in school I was friendless. My free hours were spent studying the marshal arts and the ways of the ninjas. Every weapon presented to me I slaved over, spending hours at a time mastering the device which I was given. Pure determination got me through school top of my class and a dozen other honourable mentions to my name.

**I'll never forget the day I graduated. The area of ninjas is a broad one. In the academy it is narrowed down to _ professions: spy, hunter, and warrior. On graduation day each student is given a profession in which he or she is recommended to continue. I was a hunter. Ninja stealth. Of course, I didn't just study hunting. I spend every minute studying all three areas. After school I spent a year and a half of my life mastering the three areas. Most people it will take a life time to master one. But I have a talent for aptitude. I have not yet become a full master, in all three. Spying was never my strong point. I already have my masters in hunting, and I am taking the test for warriors mastery in one month's time. Then I shall turn my focus (the part that is not on my classes) to spying. I will be the first ninja to become a master in all three areas. They say it is impossible, but I will prove them wrong. And Storm McKinnon is never wrong. **

**Through out my childhood I told stories. Not little kid lies, real stories. Tales of the unknown. I used to sit on my bed with my cat (Spooks) on my lap. He was a beautiful cat. White all over with ghostly green eyes that seemed to be filled with hidden knowledge. I loved my cat. He was my only companion in my early childhood. I used to tell him stories of the creatures of the night. Goblins, dwarves, vampires, werewolves, and (my personal favourite) elves. I would sit on top of my duvet covers and place Spooks on my lap. Then, I would say to him:**

**"What story should I tell you tonight, Spooks? Of wretched goblins and their thirst for gold? No, I told you about that last night. Vampires, the ferocious blood drinkers? Nah. I know, its been along time since I told you about my adventures with the elves! I shall tell you about the time the elves held a feast in my honour. It began one night when I was running through the forest at top speed. I was hunting a white deer. It was beautiful and fast. But nothing could escape me! Not the feared and infamous hunter Storm McKinnon! I sprinted through the forest, bow in hand, ready to fire at a moments notice. When BANG! An arrow landed in a tree inches from my face. I froze and spun around to see a dozen creatures staring gravely at me. How could any being sneak up on me so well? I had keen senses and nothing escape my notice. But of course these were elves, no wonder they moved so silently through the woods. They were about to shoot me, but I quickly told them who I was. When they realized I was Storm McKinnon, I was brought to their home and a great feast was held in my honour. The finest animals were caught and slain and we ate well. Then the elves sang and danced for me. It was a wondrous sound, Spooks. Oh! If only I could dance with them and hear their voices one more time. Then, the Prince of the elves rose and began to sing. His voice was the most amazing of them all. Like the birds in the earl morning. My breath was taken away, not only by his voice, but by his beauty. His old, elfin features. He invited me to sing with him and I did. My voice was weak in comparison. The prince swung me around and we danced together in the moonlight. Soon dawn approached and it was time for me to depart. The prince leaned over and whispered in my ear: 'You must go now, but when you are fifteen I shall come and take you away. You shall return to the forest and I shall make you my queen and together we shall rule over the elves.' So you see Spooks, soon he shall come and I shall be free. I just have to wait a little longer."**

**There were shouts from down stairs, one a man's and one a woman's. The two were arguing about something. Then the was a crash and one of the voices stopped. There was a thud. I breathed slowly for a moment, then turned and threw myself down on to the bed face down. Spooks leapt off me before he could be squished. I sobbed uncontrollably after listening to my parents fight. My father was undoubtedly drunk and my mother high on drugs. They usually are. It had become a habit for them to argue. Sometimes my father beat my mother. Sometimes he even beat me. I had the bruises to prove it. I wept for hours as I lay on my bed. Quietly, through my cries, I whispered: "My prince, if only you were real. If only you would take me away." **

**I did not know it then, but that was the night that my mother died. My father had hit her on the head with a beer bottle and her skull shattered. He was sent to prison for man slaughter and I was sent to school. Kakute Academy for Ninjas. Most children are sent there at birth, but I special. Ha! A freak was more like it. I wasn't even allowed to keep Spooks. That was worse than having my mother die. My one and only companion was gone. I was completely alone in the world.**

**That night when my mother died (my father died in prison from alcohol abuse a year later) was the last time I cried. After that my tears dried up and I was nothing. I felt not emotion, except hate. I hated everything. My heart was made of dust and sand. It will remain like that for the rest of my life. Dry, hard and cold. A girl of ice, of no emotion. I might as well be dead.**

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Like every graduate, I had come to the school as an infant. Only days old. I am told that the nurses avoided me, because of my appearance as a child. You see, lots of people say that my hair is died, but actually it's naturally purple! I love it, but I usually keep it under my awesome hat most of the time. When I was younger, I was ashamed of it; I kept it in a short spiky cut. Now, it's long and free; the way it's supposed to be. Growing up here was, looking back, a good way to grow up. When I was living it, I knew nothing else, so it was just the way things were. Now, I know how lucky I was.

I was surrounded by people my own age all the time. I had no material possessions, but I was never bored. I was never hungry. I had good, caring teachers who took care of all of us. Now that I am a teacher, I see how hard it is to be so patient.

I was popular. I won't be modest about it, although I should be. I had lots of friends. I am a friendly person, and since I was the worst in our class, people felt no competition from me. I would get beat up, but only in lessons when it was required to hit ones opponent, and then after lessons, the opponent would help me with the required bandaging. This was only the first year of physical training, so there was hardly any damage caused in this year. But in the second year, a new girl came.

We were five years old, and all friends. The academy's program teaches children at a young age how to increase ones memory. This is how I can remember all this.

At five years of age, a new girl came to the academy. This was unheard of. You had to be taken as a baby; only days old. This child had no previous training, she was not disciplined. I, being the socialiser, walked up and said hello. Let's just say that the response was not the nicest I have received. After that, we stayed clear of the strange new child.

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The next five years were spent in libraries and on the practice courts. I did not study out of ambition, I learned so vigorously out of need. I needed something to distract me. Something to take my mind off of the horrors, the nightmares, that haunted the shadowed corners of my mind. I never forgot that night, where I sat on my bed and told Spooks stories of the creatures of the night. The night that my mother died and all my misfortune started.

**Being a ninja was not so much an enjoyable experience as it was a challenge to keep my mind distracted. It did its job quite well. Being a ninja was a task so commanding, that all my attention was required for me to excel. I spent long nights at studies and my free day time hours at work. Never again would I lose a fight like a I did on that first day. I even remember the girl who defeated me…**

**She was not hard to forget. The queen of the school. A social person if I ever saw one. She had no name then, just a number. Unlike most children at the school I had a name at that time. My name had been given to me at birth and I kept it after my school days were over. Storm McKinnon suited me. **

**Student 078 was popular and charismatic. All the males at our school fell heads over heels for her. Every - well, almost every - girl wanted to be her friend. The idea of such social order sickened me. I was a free spirit and untameable. I would not fall under her spell. She was vain and not very bright. Her purple hair was just a way of getting attention. She claims it to be natural but I doubt that. Attention is her way of living, she bathes in the awe and affection of people. But it will never be my emotions that fill her bath. I was an individual and I bow to no one. Most students see fit to ease her defeat in fights, but I send her sprawling to the mat every opportunity I get to show that never again will she defeat me in battle. I hate student 078. She is everything I despise.**

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By the end of the first five years at the school I was alone, friendless, enemies with the most popular girl in school, and the best fight available. That was my one out lit in life. My fighting. It was the one place (that and my grades) where I could out do student 078.

The next five years of my life were fairly uneventful. We were sheltered in the academy and, although I never showed it, I longed for the challenge of the outside world. I was sometimes annoyed at all the attention, and I occasionally felt drawn to Storm's way of life. She was an unpopular girl -among the students at least- and she kept to herself. There were only 11 students in our class and being isolated was simple if you wanted that life.

In every class Storm got the answer before me. I had hardly ever gotten the answer before anyone else before, but now, I never did. Storm was quick at thinking, while I was slow. I worked harder to beat her, even once, but I never did. No one ever did. The rest of the class never seemed to mind, but she was very competitive and that annoyed me. Whenever she got the answer right, it seemed that she would smirk my way as if to say 'yes. I am better than you.' It drove me crazy! Most nights I would stay up late in the library reading, learning ahead, so that I could catch her out that one time.

Now, looking back, I see that the only reason I passed the courses is because of Storm. Without my extra study, I would've never gotten through the class work. I don't like it, but I'll have to thank her some day.

The only subject that it seemed I was better at was the meditation. I could always let my mind relax and stay focused on the nothing. Storm however, would always twitch and look around the room. She was never caught, but I was always caught looking at her. I can still hear the teachers voice…'078! Keep your mind forward! Don't wander, don't fidget! Calm!' Storm ruined the one subject I was good at.

When I wasn't meditating, I would always think about the outside world. I longed to know what other children out there were doing. What they learned, what they played, how they talked. They teachers always said we were lucky to be so sheltered, but I wanted to live, love. I would always try to talk to Storm about the outside; she was the only one who had been there and could remember, but every time I did she would just storm away.

Her name suited her.

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I had only one conversation (one full one anyway) with student 078 during the course of our school years. It had occurred during one physically demanding martial arts lesson. Unfortunately for me, clumsy student 078 was my partner.

**We were using bokkens (wooden swords used for training) and 078 kept tripping over her feet. "So… um…"she gasped between heavy breaths. I had hardly broken a sweat and there she had been struggling to keep up with my simple movements. "You lived on the outside, right?"**

**I had never talked about with my past with anybody in the school. Even to teachers my life was a mystery. I spent my years here in solitude and I enjoyed it. "Yeah, what's it to you?" I sneered and broke through her pathetic defence and whacked her on the side with the bokken.**

**"Ow!"078 winced and rubbed her side. I had stepped back for a second and let her recover. She hurriedly said, "No reason, I was just… just wondering." She lifted her bokken and the mock fight resumed. **

**As always I thrashed her, giving her a few more bumps and bruises than anyone else would have. At the end of one particularly violent fight she was kneeling on the practice court rubbing her side and trying to recover her breath. I watched her for a second and whispered harshly to her, "The out side world is cruel and disgusting. Monsters live out there and not the kind from fantasy stories. You are lucky to have lived in here. Do not dream of things you know nothing about. Be glad that you are innocent and untouched by the world's horrors." I glanced at my bokken and corrected myself. "Well, almost all of the world's horrors." **

**I don't know why I said that. It just came upon me. Suffer in silence was my motto, and here I was telling student 078 (who I despised) about the outside world. Not telling her exactly. Warning her. She had no idea how lucky she was to have grown up in here. Safe and secure. Surrounded by those who loved her. I would give up everything for such a life. Everything.**

**Why did I hate student 078? She was everything I wasn't. Vain, stupid, immature, a dreamer, charismatic, a people person. She dreamed of the other side when she had everything she needed right here. She heard the lies about the green grass and believed them. She was popular with other students because of her calm forgiving manner. They adored her for it. It gave her unlimited popularity that she did not deserve. She was ungrateful and false to my eyes. Vanity filled her like a shallow pool and she saw only what she wanted to see. If she looked deeper into things she might believe what I said about the world, but because she was a dreamer and a believer of lies she could not understand it. Just like her purple hair, she was pretty and likable on the outside, but on the in she was normal and stupid. **

**The whistle blew and I knew that our bout was over, me being the victor. I turned and walked away from student 078. My hate for her burning stronger than ever. **

**At the age of fifteen I received my first message from Dark Shadows. It was a secret organization of ninjas. They were… like the ninja version of the mafia. There was a boss leader who I had never met named Jianyu. All I knew about him was that he was very rich, a master in all the martial arts and that he was Chinese. According to rumour he had been taught at the academy. And been named a warrior at his graduation ceremony. He was the best warrior the academy had seen for years.**

**I will never forget that first message. There had been no clue to who the sender was, but the content was clear enough: We will be waiting for you.**

**At first I had thought there had been some mistake. Surely no one wants anything from a poor orphan girl who had no possessions to her name. But the envelope had been clearly addressed. To a Miss Storm McKinnon. I knew no other person in the word with that name. So the sender of the message had singled me out. Why? Even now I'm not entirely sure on why that is. I probably never will. But that was a crucial point in my life. It was the first of many messages from Dark Shadows. And joining them was the stupidest, irrational decision in my life. It also resulted in a death. But it was the turning point in my life. A reaction that started a chain of events that would follow me for the next few years.**

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During a battle with Storm -why the teacher kept placing me with her, I'll never know- I finally got the courage to ask her about her previous life. For it, I got many, many bruises.

About half way through the 'battle', I was breathing heavy while Storm looked cool as a cucumber. I kept trying to dodge her attacks instead of block them (my blocking skills were weak) and while I dodged around the mat, she kept in one place.

"So," I started, and had to gain breath for the next part, "um, you lived on the outside, right?"

A cloud of fury seemed to hover over her face. "Yeah, what's it to you?" Yep. Her name suited her perfectly. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my side, and saw Storm smirking.

"Ow!" I gasped, I couldn't keep it in. She stepped back and looked worried, no mad. I hurriedly backtracked "No reason, I was just… just wondering."

At the end of the fight, I was kneeling on the mat rubbing my side. Man! This girl knew what she was doing! She kept hitting the same spot on my side, not going for any other places. It wasn't in the text books, but it should have been.

Suddenly she leaned down and hissed in my ear, "The out side world is cruel and disgusting. Monsters live out there and not the kind from fantasy stories. You are lucky to have lived in here. Do not dream of things you know nothing about. Be glad that you are innocent and untouched by the world's horrors." She glanced at her training sword and seemed to reconsider her words. "Well, almost all of the world's horrors."

The whistle blew and she suddenly stalked away leaving me on the mat.

No handshake, no nothing.

I fingered my purple hair and struggled up into a standing position before the teacher came and saw me weak.

The teacher stopped by the door and nodded at me, passing on. A few seconds later, what seemed like a tidal wave of students surrounded me, helping me to my room, whispering shallow words of comfort. I nodded and staggered along, my mind filled with Storm's words.

When I was 15 they really started cracking down on 'what we were going to do with our futures'. The choices were, Warrior, Hunter, and Spy. I didn't excel at any of these, but I took the Spy course that was suggested to me. Spying really wasn't my thing at all. I was loud and clumsy, and I never really took interest in being quiet. It's not surprising that once again, I was at the bottom of my class.

What I did discover, however, was the fact that I loved the children from the younger class. For one thing, I knew all the answers before them, and for another, they seemed to love me. I guess being a people person really helps with the young ones.

Every time a teacher was ill, or on a mission, I would volunteer immediately to take their place. Lots of kids rolled their eyes when the teachers announced another teacher missing, but their eyes stayed in one place when I raised my hand. One of the perks of being popular I guess.

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At fifteen I was recommended the career of a hunter. Being a hunter had always been my preferred choice, followed by warrior. Spying had always been a weary and tiresome task for me. There was not enough action in it to keep me distracted. So I took the path of a hunter. But by sixteen and a half I had extracted every ounce of information the school had to offer me on the subject. I would have to wait until after graduation to receive my masters. I chose to examine a different path, that of a warrior. I spent the last six months of my school life studying warrior skills. I was the best in my class, even though the others had been studying for far longer than me. They despised my skills and were rueful of me. But I kept my head down and studied. When graduation came I was top of my class with top marks. I received honours for top of the year in both warrior skills and hunting techniques. Any job was open to me. I could have done anything with my ninja skills. So why did I choose to work for Dark Shadows?

**Over the past two years I had received three notes. One on my sixteenth birthday. Which told me that they would come for me. Another on Christmas of the same year. Which congratulated me on finishing hunting techniques so early in my years. And the last, a day before my graduation which contained three words. _We are coming_.**

**So after the graduation ceremony I was strolling through the woods outside out school brooding over how much I would miss this place. How much like home it had felt to me. I had half wished I wasn't graduating. Then he came. Tall, thin and muscular. He resembled a stork. There was some Malaysian background in him. He was a mix of a European country and Malaysian definitely. He had watched me as I wandered through the trees. When he made his presence known I was not surprised. I had train as a ninja for years, I had known he was there since the beginning of my walk. He smiled coolly at me and asked my name.**

**"As if you don't know." I had replied. I was not afraid, though I felt I should be.**

**A small smile appeared at his lips. "You are right, we do know." It was creepy how he referred to himself as we. As if he were talking about more than just himself. He was referring to the whole organization. They had been watching me for awhile. **

**I had known since I was sixteen who was contacting me. The second letter had unnerved me enough to research about who sent notes like that. As a hunter I had been taught about computers and hacking to help me with my tracking. I finally uncovered information about Dark Shadows. Then, I was faced with a decision: Would I join or not?**

**"Yes you have. I also know who you are." I told him boldly. **

**"Really? And what is that?" He knew I knew, he was just playing along.**

**"You work for Dark Shadows, and you are here to recruit me." I said quietly. The answer was already in my mind. I had decided only last night when the deadline for my decision was final.**

**"Yes. I work for Dark Shadows. My name is Kamal and I am here to ask you: will you work for us? The pay is high and you won't regret it. We need a warrior and hunter working for us. You are a valuable person for us to have. So I repeat the question: Will you work for us?" There was absolutely no emotion in his voice. It was like watching a horrible movie where all the actors were like robots. **

**"I decided along time ago, Kamal." I said calmly. **

**"And what did you decide?" He asked, urging me on.**

**"Your wish is my command."**

**That was the biggest mistake of my life.**

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At my graduation, I noticed two things. Well, actually three, if you count after the graduation as well.

One: I had just graduated. I had no where to go.

Two: Storm looked sad, but also confident at the same time.

Three: After graduation she just simply disappeared.

Oh and another one,

Four: No one looked surprised.

I was really confused. I tried to put the puzzle pieces together, but I could simply not do it. I pushed that to the back of my mind, and concentrated on saying goodbye to everyone.

Later on, I packed my meagre belongings and told the Academy that I was venturing out. Gossip travelled and I found my self being half a day late for my departure; I was swarmed by people. How I envied Storm at this moment! She could just flee and leave at any moment, but I, the one who had been named Kanjiri, after the birds, could not be free.

It is said that I was named Kanjiri for my free spirit, but I accidentally over heard the masters talking about the naming. They were talking about 'purple hair', and how 'birds are also vibrantly coloured'. It shocked me slightly that they would think of me in such a shallow way.

So I ventured out, not really doing much. 'Living off the land' as some people called it. It was the only thing I had been good at in my Spy training.

I never really saw people, and I almost never talked. A big difference when you look back to my days at the Academy.

After about three years wandering alone, I went back to the Academy to work there. I was shocked to see a very familiar face.

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_Pluto: Now, review and subscribe so you can follow it! Please? I will give you...a cyber paper clip!_

_Flame: And CAKE!_


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